TEN & OUT:

Blair ready to quit in the spring (Toby Helm, George Jones and Rachel Sylvester, 28/06/2006, Daily Telegraph)

Tony Blair is ready to announce that he will step down next year, probably around his 10th anniversary in Downing Street in May.

Senior Blairite MPs said that high-level discussions were going on to prepare for a transition to an expected Gordon Brown premiership.